“You can't stop talking about palliative care:” Perspectives and Learnings from Providers on Communicating about Palliative Care to Patients and Physicians

Method: Focus groups with nine California-based HBPC organizations were conducted between January and April 2020. Discussions lasted approximately 54 minutes, were guided by a semistructured protocol, audio recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes and codes from the data. Results: Twenty-five interdisciplinary HBPC staff members participated in a focus group. Most identified as white (76%), female (76%), and working in their current position for five years or less (56%). Three themes were identified from the data: (1) value of relationships; (2) communication do’s and don’ts; and (3) need for education. Participants discussed actionable recommendations for each theme.